RNS) A Pennsylvania Catholic bishop whose public scoldings of politicians — including Vice President Joe Biden — created a stir nationwide resigned on Monday (Aug. 31), citing stress and lack of confidence in his leadership. Bishop Joseph Martino was appointed […]

(RNS) A New Jersey pastor has been elected the next general secretary of the Progressive National Baptist Convention. The Rev. Walter Parrish III, senior pastor of Union Baptist Church in Montclair, N.J., was chosen for the position during the historically […]

GENEVA (RNS/ENI) The new head of the World Council of Churches said the global church group offers a unique network that can forge better relations with the Roman Catholic Church, other Christian groups and Muslims. The Rev. Olav Fykse Tveit, […]

BOSTON – U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy was raised from birth to cherish his Catholicism, and it became both a source of comfort and conflict throughout his life. The son of the country’s most famous Catholic family defied church teachings when […]

GENEVA (RNS/ENI) The American Jewish Committee on Friday (Aug. 28) denounced the World Council of Churches’ outgoing general secretary, the Rev. Samuel Kobia, for his declaration that Israel’s “occupation” of Palestinian territories is “a sin against God.” “Rev. Kobia parrots […]

(RNS) Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori on Thursday (Aug. 27) tried to tamp criticism she received last month after she denounced the “heresy” of individual salvation. In a statement issued by church headquarters in New York, Jefferts Schori tried […]

TAIPEI, Taiwan – China on Thursday denounced Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou’s decision to allow the Dalai Lama to visit the self-ruled island, casting a shadow over rapidly improving relations between Taipei and Beijing. However, Beijing appeared to stop short of […]

The outgoing general secretary of the World Council of Churches said Wednesday (Aug. 26) that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories should be declared a “sin against God”. “Occupation, along with the concomitant humiliation of a whole people for over six […]

A Kentucky court has ruled that a state law that declares the state Office of Homeland Security cannot do its job without God’s help is unconstitutional. The New Jersey-based group American Atheists filed suit last December against the Commonwealth of […]

WASHINGTON (RNS) Conservative Christian groups on Wednesday (Aug. 26) ramped up opposition to health care reform, saying the current system “has problems” but “it is working.” Members of the newly formed Freedom Federation, comprised of some of the largest conservative […]